Ethan Kahn Storybook Favorites

The Beginning of the End


     I loved how this story revolved around Hindu Eschatology. I've read about it before, in my own free-time, and it's something that really fascinates me. The idea that our Universe has been and will be created and destroyed innumerable times for eternity. However, I didn't know the Golden Egg was a Hindu concept as well. I knew that Chinese mythology has a similar story about the Universe being born out of a Cosmic Egg. I also enjoyed reading the part about the Devas battling the Asuras for the Nectar of Immortality and then deciding to double-cross them instead. The end of the story gave me an idea to ponder when Purusha, the narrator, talks about how one of the reasons it created the Universe was to observe each successive Universal creation play out before destroying them and creating something new.

Stories of Krishna

Krishna Picking up Govardhan Mountain

     Another set of stories that I really enjoy reading are the life events and adventures of Krishna. He's such a colorful character and arguably one of the strongest heroes to be found in any mythological or fictional story. I really like the casual spin that Jeet Patel put on Krishna's many communal deeds. It made Krishna into a more modern character with a thought process that people could relate to today. This made his larger than life character seem even more real and his feats all the more impressive. 

Voldemort's Reincarnation
Voldemort's Reincarnation
Lord Voldemort - Wiki Commons

     This story revolved around a very interesting concept. Like in The Beginning of the End, it capitalized on the use of Hindu Eschatology. However, it did so in a very intriguing way by using the Harry Potter mythos as a historical repeat of the past cycle in which Rama reincarnated to fight the demon Ravana. Thus, Harry is the next avatar of Vishnu who came to defeat Voldemort, who is the reincarnation of Ravana. I think that this is such a unique idea for a story and I couldn't believe that somebody thought to combine Hindu stories with the Harry Potter universe. In my opinion, the story does a thorough job of infusing the two storylines without featuring one too much more than the other. For example, the story about Voldemort's early life and upbringing but from the perspective that he's Ravana's reincarnation. The battle scene also did a great job at combining elements from both the Harry Potter series and the Ramayana. 




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